Doping Lithium-ion Batteries to Make Them Safer

When lithium-ion batteries overheat, they can burn through internal pockets, burst into flames, and even explode. One reason such damage can occur is the formation of dendrites—finger-like deposits of lithium that can grow long enough to pierce the barrier between a lithium-ion battery’s halves and cause it to short out.

Dendrites form when a battery electrode degrades and metal ions deposit onto the electrode’s surface. …

In their latest work, Stanford researchers used chemicals designed to prevent dendrite formation.

see: http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/consumer-electronics/portable-devices/doping-lithiumion-batteries-to-make-them-safer